Kim Kardashian West to Discuss Prison Reform at the White House

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Here’s some news most were probably not expecting to hear: Kim Kardashian West will visit the White House to discuss prison reform.

The reality star has been advocating for 62-year old great grandmother Alice Marie Johnson, who has been serving a life sentence for a first-time drug offense. A source told Vanity Fair that Kardashian West learned about Johnson’s story on Twitter and reached out to Ivanka Trump, who connected her with senior adviser Jared Kushner.

“I’ve been in communication with the White House and trying to bring her case to the president’s desk and figure out how we can get her out,” Kardashian West said to Mic.com earlier this month. “That’s such a huge step from where we started with that not even being on their radar.”

After several discussions over the phone, the face-to-face meeting is set for today with a special meaning.

Alice Marie Johnson

Johnson has served more than 21 years of her life sentence after being imprisoned for her involvement in a low-level, non-violent drug operation. Her only chance at being released is to be granted clemency from the president.

Mic featured her in a video back in October 2017. The video tallied over four million views and 19,000 shares on Facebook. It was also featured on Twitter, where Kardashian West viewed it.

Kardashian West told Mic that it was their video that inspired her to help Johnson get released in any way she can, admitting that her priorities in life have changed and she wants to use her fame to help those in need. She has since brought on her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, who worked with Robert Kardashian during the O.J. Simpson trial.

Johnson’s Story

Johnson describes her story in the Mic video. She was convicted for her role in facilitating communications in a cocaine trafficking operation in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. She told Mic that her involvement was due to financial hardship.

“I went into a complete panic and out of desperation, I made one of the worst decisions of my life to make some quick money,” Johnson said.

The lead-up to her involvement in the drug operation was her divorce, her son being killed in a motorcycle accident and losing her job. It was one thing after another that caused her to make one bad choice.

“If you think about a decision that you’ve made in your life and you get life without the possibility of parole for your first-time nonviolent offense, there’s just something so wrong with that,” Kardashian West said to Mic.

Madison Bumgarner’s Return Date is Set

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The San Francisco Giants will finally have their ace back.

Madison Bumgarner is set to return on June 3 at AT&T Park.

Manager Bruce Bochy told NBC Sports that Bumgarner will throw 70-75 pitches for the San Jose Giants on Thursday and then make his San Francisco return next Tuesday.

Bochy said there were considerations to bring Bumgarner back Friday, after just one rehab start, but the final decision was made to be more cautious.

“It’s just giving him another start to where he can be more stretched out and we don’t have to be careful with him,” Bochy said. “If you go back, we were talking about three (rehab starts originally), so he’s still ahead of schedule.”

Bumgarner hasn’t played in the majors since his dirt bike accident in April 2017. Bruised ribs and a shoulder sprain sidelined him for three months, leaving the Giants to find out the hard way what life was like without him. They dropped to last place in the National League with a 64-98 finish, their second-worst record since 1903.

Hoping for a fresh start in 2018 along with a healthy Bumgarner, it was crushing to see the ace go down with a fracture to his pitching hand during his final start of a spectacular spring. He sustained a fracture on the fifth metacarpal in his left pinky finger, with initial reports sidelining him for a minimum four to six weeks.

“It’s tough but these guys can handle it,” Bumgarner said at the time of his injury. “This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened, and I can deal with it.”

Now, his rehab play has been just as strong. He threw 3 2/3 hitless innings for Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday and struck out eight.

“He was really where he needed to be as far as his delivery and command of all his pitches,” Bochy said to NBC Sports. “That’s why he’s coming up probably earlier than anticipated.”

What will Bumgarner be returning to?

A team currently at 25-29 sitting in fourth place of the NL West. However, that’s just four games out of first place.

The NL West is anyone’s taking right now and Bumgarner will sure give the Giants a boost.

This article was originally posted on Small Teaser Sports.

Giants Release WR Brandon Marshall

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After an underwhelming debut season, the New York Giants announced Thursday that they’re releasing veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall struggled from the start of last season with Big Blue. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 5. In his five games, he caught 18 passes for 154 yards and no touchdowns. He also had some key dropped passes.

In what seemed to be a great duo of Marshall and Odell Beckham Jr., the addition did not live up to expectations.

General manager Dave Gettleman said the release was due to a failed physical. While the move wasn’t really a shock, it will be interesting to see what the Giants do next.

Would they sign Dez Bryant?

After the eight-year veteran was cut by the Cowboys, Bryant told Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that he wants to play against his former team twice this upcoming season, which indicates signing with an NFC East team.

Fisher wrote an in-depth piece on 247sports.com about where Bryant could land and it mentioned various teams. However, it seems that the Giants may be Bryant’s top pick.

“The Giants got a helluva defense,” Bryant told Fisher. “They’re going to pay [Odell Beckham Jr.]. Playing with him, Sterling Shepard… the tight end [Evan Engram], [Eli] Manning? Crazy. They draft (Penn State running back Saquan Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick)? That’d be crazy!”

Ironically, a day before Marshall’s release, he showed his displeasure of Bryant coming to the Giants on Instagram with a screenshot of an article featuring Bryant and a caption of ‘Sorry baby bro, no room.’ He quickly deleted it but screenshots were captured and circulated.

Bryant caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns for the Cowboys in 2017.

When asked about the possible Bryant signing, Gettleman said “I have interest in everybody. We’ll do our film work and you never know.”

This article originally appeared on Small Teaser Sports.

Robert Griffin III Signs With The Ravens

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RGIII is back.

The former Redskins and Browns quarterback has signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

“You look at the veteran quarterbacks out there,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said to ESPN, “where we’re at right now, I’m pretty excited about this player. I’m really feeling like we got a steal. I really feel that way.”

Griffin was the second-overall pick in the 2012 draft in hopes of him becoming the Washington Redskins’ franchise quarterback.

He shined in the 2012 season with 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and a 102.4 QB rating. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year and made both the Pro Bowl and All-Rookie team.

An ACL injury sidelined him at the end of the season, which was just the start of an injury-plagued career. He was benched for all of the 2015 season before being released by the Redskins in 2016.

The Cleveland Browns went on to sign Griffin to a two-year deal. However, injuries limited him to just five games with the Browns.

Baltimore has been in need of another backup to Joe Flacco with only Josh Woodrum as the other QB on the roster.

Griffin was initially brought in to throw to receivers, according to ESPN, which led to a meeting with team officials before making an agreement Tuesday.

“He came in last week, worked out,” Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “He had a real good workout and we were able to come to an agreement late yesterday. He will probably be here early next week to sign the deal.”

 

Giants Improve Offensive Line With Nate Solder Signing

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In their first major move so far in free agency, the Giants have finally given their disastrous offensive line a boost with the signing of left tackle Nate Solder.

The former New England Patriot has been protecting Tom Brady’s blindside since being drafted in 2011. Now, the 6-foot-8, 325-pounder will be the blocker Eli Manning has been in desperate need of.

Solder has played in 98 career regular-season games, 95 starts, and 16 career playoff games. He has one Pro Bowl invitation in his career so far as an AFC alternate in 2017. He’s spent his whole career with the Patriots, which includes four Super Bowl appearances.

With the signing, it is unclear what will happen to current left tackle Ereck Flowers. To say Flowers has been inconsistent in his time at left tackle would be an understatement.  However, the Giants implied they have no plans of getting rid of him yet. He will likely move to right tackle or could become a backup.

New Giants’ general manager Dave Gettleman knew he needed to improve the offensive line – one of his team’s biggest weaknesses – as soon as possible.

After losing out on top guard Andrew Norwell to Tom Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguars, Gettleman landed the best left tackle on the market. Although he paid a big price to get it done, it was a move that needed to be accomplished.

Solder is now the highest paid offensive lineman in the league with a four-year, $62 million contract and a whopping $34.9 million guaranteed.

Get ready Giants fans, this is just the start of free agency.

 

 

 

 

Kristaps Porzingis Suffers a Torn ACL

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Kristaps Porzingis landed awkwardly after a dunk in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Bucks. He immediately clutched onto his left leg in pain, leaving Knicks‘ fans fearing the worst as they watched him being helped off the court.

After the game, the Knicks broke the news that their star forward had suffered a torn ACL.

The injury

Just three minutes into the second quarter, Porzingis landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot after his dunk. It looked like his ankle buckled as he landed on his left leg.

He was in obvious pain as he grabbed his knee. Teammates helped him walk off the court without having to put much weight on the leg.

He was able to walk on his own and was described as “okay” as he headed to the hospital to get an MRI, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. Begley reported at the time that head coach Jeff Hornaceck didn’t want to speculate on the injury but called it “deflating.”

“More than a basketball player, he’s my brother,” Knicks’ center Enes Kanter said to ESPN after the game. “I don’t want to see anyone going down like that hurting his knee. He’s about to be an All-Star. I’m just going to pray for him tonight. He is the most important part of our family.”

Porzingis had 11 30-point games this season, compared to three 30-point games in his first two seasons. He was averaging 22.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-high 2.4 blocks per game.

The 7-foot-3 star had just been chosen for his first All-Star game.

What’s next?

After the loss to the Bucks, the Knicks stand at 23-32 and three spots out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They were holding onto hope to make a playoff run but without Porzingis, things aren’t looking good.

It’s an awful end to a season of great potential for the Latvian star. He has become the new face of the franchise and has the talent to lead the team back to the playoffs.

Shams Charania of The Vertical reported soon after the news broke that Porzingis was scheduling the surgery to repair the torn ligament.

The recovery after an ACL tear could be anywhere from eight months to at least a year, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported.

Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker just returned last Friday after missing 11 months. He had a second ACL surgery on the same knee.

“He can come back from it and he’ll be the same player again,” Parker said to The News following the Bucks’ 103-89 victory Tuesday. “He can do it.”

In the meantime, the Knicks need someone to step up for the remainder of the season. They were up by one point before losing Porzingis in the second. About halfway through the third quarter, they were down by 20.

Here’s to a speedy recovery, Porzingis.

This article originally appeared on Blasting News.

The Giants Shouldn’t Draft a QB First

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This will most likely qualify as the unpopular vote, but I really would love to see the Giants draft a running back first this offseason.

All of the talk has been about getting a new, young quarterback in this upcoming draft. Yes, that’d be great considering the candidates in this draft pool and that Eli Manning isn’t getting any younger.

But what about Davis Webb?

The rookie has been inactive on the sidelines all season… A season that went downhill quick and never recovered.
Looking at the horrendous offense, there came a time where it was pointless for Manning to continue to play, let alone start games at all. He was just risking an injury at that point. There was nothing left to play for.

Yes, after the whole start streak debacle with former head coach Ben Mcadoo, Manning deserved to be back at starting QB.

But…

Davis Webb deserved to see some play time – any kind of play time. Whether there was a potential to win or they were down by 20+ points, Webb deserved to see some pro action.

He was gaining knowledge while watching from the sideline and from one-on-ones with Manning, sure, but the Giants failed their rookie QB who could have grown and gained some valuable experience.

 

https://breakawaybutterfly.weebly.com/blog/the-giants-should-draft-a-running-back-first-not-a-quarterback

Giants Will Start Eli Manning This Sunday

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The New York Giants are finally making all the right moves this week.

After firing both head coach Ben Mcadoo and general manager Jerry Reese following the starting quarterback debacle and their 10th loss of the season, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that #Eli Manning will be back under center this Sunday (Dec. 10) vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

Many debated what would be next [VIDEO] for the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo was left to clean up the recent mess and choose who he wanted as his starting quarterback.

“Eli has always impressed me,” Spagnuolo said last week to NJ.com. “We’ve been together through a lot of good things and I respect him a great deal. I really do.”

It is no secret that this has been a season of turmoil for the Giants. Yes, injuries have plagued the team, but it is more about the drama surrounding the team off the field.

Last week, the Giants simply wanted to start evaluating their younger quarterbacks. According to co-owner John Mara, McAdoo wanted Manning to start the game and then test-run Geno Smith in the second half. Manning declined [VIDEO] to do this, not wanting to taint his historic start streak. Mara took the blame for not doing more to take control of the situation.

After an unimpressive outing by Smith and yet another loss, proving that Manning was the scapegoat, McAdoo and Reese were both fired Monday (Dec. 4). A day later, the interim coaching staff put their veteran QB back in the starting spot.

The Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at Metlife Stadium and let’s just be honest, it wouldn’t have been right to keep Manning on the sidelines. Through everything, Manning has been nothing short of classy and he deserves his job back.

Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday (Dec. 3) that former Giants players were discussing a plan to attend the matchup against the Cowboys in Manning jerseys on the sidelines. After Manning’s benching, several former players spoke out in disgust. Former defensive end Justin Tuck was frustrated enough to not want to go to another game this season.

“Not sure if I’ll go to another game this season,” Tuck told the Daily News via text. “Haven’t decided.”

Manning has had the support of the former players, current players on opposing teams, and the fans. A Dick’s Sporting Good Jersey Report shows that his jersey sales have jumped 50 spots in the last week – up to number 29 in the league.

There was a Facebook group started in support of Manning since his benching happened. The group, called “Outside for Eli,” currently has 984 members and was made to reach out to “all season ticket holders, Cowboys-Giants ticket holders, and Eli Manning fans.” The group made plans to boycott their seats in the stadium and stay outside in the parking lot for the game.

After the firings of McAdoo and Reese, longtime fan Matt Meyer, who was leading the protest, told the New York Post that the fans in the group do understand that this is a lost season and that they do want to see what rookie Davis Webb has to offer. However, they still want to show support for Manning.

“It’s going to be more of an ‘inside for Eli’ [theme] if he returns,” Meyer said to the Post. “But after everything that just happened, the fact it’s the Cowboys, we all want to be there for Eli.”

There is no doubt that Giants fans will be cheering for their star quarterbackwhen he takes the field Sunday.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/12/giants-will-start-eli-manning-this-sunday-002213493.html

Eli Manning Declines to Start, Geno Smith in at QB

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The New York Giants continue to make headlines – and not for good reasons.

In a shocking move announced Tuesday, the team will start Geno Smith at quarterback and not Eli Manning.

Manning has started a total of 210 consecutive regular-season games since his first start on Nov. 21, 2004. He holds the second spot in NFL history behind only Brett Favre at 297.

With the Giants standing at 2-9 in a disastrous season, this is the first major change to happen, and it is no secret that head coach Ben McAdoo has been hinting at it. After calling out Manning multiple times in his press conferences, something is finally being addressed.

While Manning is not the one who deserves to be called out for the team’s struggles, this change may jump-start the organization to make moves that will actually benefit the team.

Manning was able to continue his streak. However, he declined because he felt that continuing to play in this unsuccessful season just taints it. The offense has been a mess and is 30th in the league in points with just 16 per game. Manning has completed 167-of-260 passes for 1,600 yards behind an underactive offensive line.

“My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them,” Manning said to Giants.com. “Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak.”

General manager Jerry Reese told Giants.com that in the midst of this horrible season, it is time to evaluate every position. You can argue whether or not this is the right move, but at least something is finally being done.

“Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed,” Manning said. “I will help Geno and Davis [Webb] prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”

Smith is now getting the chance to show the Giants what he can do for them. He has not started a game since Week 7 of the 2016 season, while with the New York Jets. Smith made his NFL debut in 2013 with the Jets and was with them until signing with the Giants this past March. He has 28 career passing touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a 72.4 rating.

Rookie quarterback Davis Webb will also get a chance this season, according to McAdoo. Webb was taken in the third round by the Giants in this year’s draft. He threw 37 touchdowns in his last season at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis an opportunity,” McAdoo said in a statement.

Get ready for some hard change Giants fans. We haven’t seen someone start at QB besides Manning since 2004.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/11/eli-manning-declines-to-start-geno-smith-is-in-at-qb-002141055.html

Deshaun Watson Out For The Season With a Torn ACL

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Less than 24 hours after the city of Houston was celebrating their first World Series championship, they find out their star quarterback has a torn ACL.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson went down in practice on a non-contact drill, first reported by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. The rookie had an MRI done to confirm the news no one wanted to be true.

Watson has had a stellar season so far and was coming off his best performance of his young career. In the Texans’ 41-38 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last week, he passed for 402 yards and four touchdowns.

His performance helped him earn AFC Offensive Player of the Month – the first rookie quarterback to ever do so. He was also named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month for October.

In his six career games, Watson has passed for 1,699 yards and 19 touchdowns – tied for the NFL lead. He was even favored for the Rookie of the Year.

Watson has become just the fourth quarterback in history to throw at least three touchdowns in four separate outings during their rookie season, joining Peyton Manning, Marcus Mariota and Dak Prescott. He also surpassed Kurt Warner for the most passing touchdowns in a quarterback’s first seven games at 19.

The former Clemson QB took over for the Texans in Week 2 and has since led the NFL in points per game with 34.7, was sixth in passing yards per game with a 266.2 average, first in passing TDs and fourth in passer rating (108.4), according to NFL.com.

Tom Savage will take over for Watson. The four-year veteran has played in two games this season for the Texans. He has a 53.8 completion percentage, 62 passing yards and a 66.8 passer rating. The Texans have already signed former Raider Matt McGloin as a backup for Savage, according to Rapoport. McGloin previously played for head coach Bill O’Brien at Penn State.